The problems includes not letting customers know they could purchase caskets somewhere besides the funeral home, telling customers they did not have the right to cancel pre-planned funeral contracts and charging more than the allowable statutory fee for a death certificate. Problems were found at nine of the 38 funeral homes in Washington D.C. and warnings were issued.

This is most likely not just a problem in the nation's capital.

Among the issues are that buyers of funeral home services do not always have many options. They are often in the process of grieving. As a result, unscrupulous funeral homes can take advantage of them.

The exact rules vary from state to state but funeral homes are often not allowed to keep customers ill-informed of their various options and legal rights.

If you find yourself in need of funeral services, it would be helpful to research the laws in your state, if at all possible.

12/25/2018

As you watch events unfold in your family, you might notice what the elderly family members do. It might be a good place to learn what you should and perhaps what you shouldn’t do and apply the experience to your life, according to The New York Times in "Things I'll Do Differently When I'm Old."

The author of the story suggests that people keep a list of things they would do differently than their relatives. Writing a list down might make it more likely that people will remember the lessons they are learning.

Another way people can learn from the mistakes of elderly family members is by taking note of what happens, if those family members pass away without an estate plan or if they do not have end-of-life directives, such as powers of attorney. The problems that can result should be powerful lessons.

An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.

People are becoming more and more concerned about their environmental footprint and focus in everyday life on cleaner cars and recycling. However, those who want an environmentally friendly final resting place do not have many options.

The best option for most people is to get a casket that is easily biodegradable, but not all funeral homes offer them.

A new cremation method uses an alkaline solution heated to 300 degrees that liquefies human remains. Instead of producing ashes, the remains are a brown liquid substance that resembles maple syrup. The method does not use fossil fuels and does not emit carbon.

California is the 15th state to allow this form of water-cremation. If it becomes popular there, it may move to other states, including yours.

According to the article Herb Lee, 87, became extremely ill after going out to dinner and was rushed to the hospital.

Lee had made it clear to his family that should he ever become seriously ill, he did not want any efforts made to prolong his life. He did not want respirators or feeding tubes. He did not want to be resuscitated.

The medical staff at the hospital could only give Lee half treatments that left him suffering in great pain.

The doctor who eventually had to make the decision about what to do was Lee's grandson-in-law. He later wrote about it and it was published in the newspaper.

Ultimately, the grandson-in-law decided to do what was necessary to save Lee's life, so he would not linger in great pain. Lee lived a normal life for several years after that and was able to enjoy many family events.

The grandson-in-law eventually asked Lee if in hindsight, he would want his life saved if he had to do it all over again and he said no.

The study tracked 783 people who had signed up for an Alzheimer's prevention program, because they had family who got the disease.

What did the researchers discover?

Those who suffered from a loss of hearing were more likely to become cognitively impaired.

They also found that people who suffered from slight losses in verbal communication skills were more likely to become cognitively impaired. These were people whose language became less sophisticated and specific, and people who took longer to express the same thoughts than they previously did.

They also found that people who began to need hospitalization in emergency situations more frequently, were more likely to become cognitively impaired.

This study could be an important step in discovering how to diagnose Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, as early as possible.

08/14/2018

There are people who do not go quietly into the night and just fade away when they die but become more lucid near the end, according to The New York Times in "The Gentler Symptoms of Dying."

Sometimes people who have not been communicative for a long time, will suddenly appear to be well again. Dementia patients can even have a period of lucidity where they are able to communicate with loved ones like they could before they became ill. This normally occurs within a week of the person passing away and often on the same day.

This phenomenon is known as terminal lucidity and records of it go all the way back to Hippocrates.

Understanding what people go through when they pass away and why some people have terminal lucidity could be helpful for elderly people. This knowledge could possibly be used to give doctors a way to make passing away more comfortable.

07/19/2018

Death is generally a scary subject, because none of us can be absolutely certain what death will be like and what will happen afterwards. A side effect is that elderly people and the terminally ill do not always have people to help them deal with the process. However, a new movement is trying to change that, according TheNew York Times in "The Positive Death Movement Comes to Life."

The movement is not completely cohesive. It is just various people and groups trying to make the subject of death less taboo and to focus on the personal needs of the dying. In some places it has taken the form of "death cafes" where anyone interested can come together and talk about the subject. Other people are working on ways for hospice patients to receive personal attention in the same way a midwife helps those giving birth.

People often avoid getting an estate plan, because it makes then think of death. However, a better approach may well be to focus on your loved ones and easing the loss, when death does occur.

07/11/2018

A group of doctors and religious-affiliated people fought hard against California’s recently-passed doctor-assisted suicide law. In May 2018, the opponents of the law won a major victory, when a district court judge declared that the law violated the state's constitution. The ruling, however, was a partial victory, because the judge did not rule on the merits of the law but declared that the manner of the law had been passed unconstitutionally.

The California law is being closely monitored by interest groups on both sides of the debate over doctor-assisted suicide. Interest groups are also following the law, because it included several provisions mandating that the state collect data about how the law was working and to issue regular reports about it.

07/04/2018

The concept of student loans in the U.S. is to take the loans out early in life, go to work after college and then pay off the debt load. However, it does not always work that way. It has become a big enough problem, that the American Association of Retired Persons is starting to worry about it, according to Politico in "Why the AARP is worried about student loans."

The AARP has two basic issues with the current student loan situation. The first is that an increasing number of elder Americans have defaulted on their loans. As a result, their Social Security benefits are being garnished. The organization is trying to get a law passed to end the garnishment of Social Security benefits.

More generally, the AARP is worried that the increasing amount of debt graduates are carrying is making it difficult for them to save for retirement. Americans generally do not save enough for their retirements. If the student loan situation gets worse in a few decades, elder Americans could be even more unprepared to retire.

The doctors argued that the law did not adequately define terminal illness, for it to be clear which patients were eligible for physician assistance. The law also exempted people who helped patients with death from liability. The doctors complained that the law was not passed by the legislature following the appropriate procedure. The judge agreed with these claims.

Supporters of the law point out that the ruling was not about the legality of physician-assisted death itself. As a result, California has subsequently filed an appeal of the court's ruling.

The law, which was passed in 2015 allowing the practice, has been observed carefully by advocates and detractors, who thought it was a good opportunity to see how it would work, especially since the law contained important provisions concerning record keeping and reporting.